


Your Night Moves

by morvish



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Royalty, King and Lionheart AU, M/M, Royalty, near enough anyway
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-18
Updated: 2019-05-03
Packaged: 2019-10-31 01:55:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17840192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morvish/pseuds/morvish
Summary: Sora was in big trouble for leaving the palace by himself, and even bigger trouble for bringing a bloodied, unconscious man back with him. But Sora was sure he knew him, and he could have sworn this man knew him too.5 times Sora found Riku, and one time Riku found Sora. A royalty au.





	1. Part One

**Author's Note:**

> i make an awful lot of 5+1s so it only made sense that my first foray back into kingdom hearts (after it was my first ever fandom over ten years ago!!!) would have to be one...although it kind of got away from me, and became its own story in itself. it's still TECHNICALLY a 5+1 though.

1.  
He pulled the hood tighter round his face, hoping no one had caught a glimpse from the breeze that was trying to ruin his whole escapade that night. Nobody seemed to be gasping, or running towards him, or away from him, or looking as though they’d like to bundle him into the back of a carriage - so Sora was pretty sure he was safe for now.

He quickly peeled off from the main street before that could change. He knew it would take longer to get there this way, but he liked exploring the lesser trod areas of the city. An icy puddle splashed under his foot, and he hoped his boots wouldn’t get too muddy. It was a mistake to have worn them on this outing in the first place, but Sora hadn’t been thinking about that when he had snuck out of his room.

He picked up the pace and hurried faster through the back alleys of Destati, and with a rush of cold air to his chest, he suddenly found himself grinning as he panted from the effort.

It wasn’t often that Prince Sora of the Seashore Kingdom found himself enjoying the rush of something that actually felt like freedom.

As Sora rounded a corner he slipped on a patch of black ice, and quickly righted himself by grabbing hold of the wall.

“Ouch!” he hissed as his palm scraped down the rough grain of the brick. “That’s gonna sting.” He wiped his hand on his pants before he could think more about it, and kept going. He hadn’t realised just how cold it was. Being so close to the coast, Destati didn’t usually get such frosty winters, but he supposed it had to happen at some point.

There.

He could hear it. Through the darkness and the damp noises of Destati at night, of peoples’ muted nattering nearby and dogs’ echoing barks, while gulls called and flapped through the streets; he could hear that sound. The sound of the waves crashing against a sandy shore, the sound of the sea.

He huffed a quick breath, felt the sharpness of the salt and chill in his throat, and pushed on faster. Another corner and he would be able to see it.

But before he could reach it he was pulled down once again by water, freezing temperatures, and gravity. He couldn’t catch himself this time, but someone else did.

A strong hand grabbed his arm and yanked him up before his behind could hit the frozen ground.

“Ow!” said Sora, as the stranger said, “Hey, watch yourself.”

“Oh, uh.” Sora looked up to see another hooded person. It must be the night for mysterious wanderers. With a shock of panic, Sora realised his own hood had fallen off when he’d slipped. “Oh no,” he said, and the stranger’s grip on his arm tightened. “Listen, don’t-” Sora stopped, realising how weak he sounded. “Don’t do anything you’d regret,” he finished quickly, narrowing his eyes and lowering his voice.

The hand on his arm loosened slightly.

Sora’s eyes widened. He wasn’t used to people actually responding to his threats.

The hooded figure dropped Sora’s arm.

Sora stared at him, trying to make out the face in shadow, but in the darkness all he could make out was a sharp chin and a serious-looking mouth.

“Be careful,” it said in a smooth, deep voice after a moment. “You nearly ran into me.” Then the figure turned around to walk away.

Sora quickly tucked his head back into his hood.

“Hey!” he called after him. “Don’t tell anyone you saw me, OK?”

The figure didn’t respond, choosing instead to somehow melt into the night.

Sora didn’t think that was a thing people could actually do, but now that he knew it was possible, he wanted nothing more than to be able to do it himself.

Grumbling under his breath about mysterious people and how needlessly cool they had to be, he continued his way to the beach, but slower this time. He felt a little worn out, and the ecstatic rush of excitement had made way for a more careful, contented anticipation. He had tripped over two times too many, and been grabbed by a stranger one time too many. Although, he had managed to get out of the predicaments without too much trouble, so he was still doing well.

He smiled to himself as he turned the corner, and there it was. The sea, all black and busy under the night sky; velvet rippling onto the shore.

Sora jogged the last few feet to the sand, and found his usual spot. A small, mostly broken pier sticking a short way out into the waves. He sat down, hood pulled over his head, hoping his black cloak blended into the dark night, and he watched the sea.

When he was a small child, he used to come here all the time, and mostly during the day. But he wasn’t allowed anymore - not really. Or at least, it wasn’t the same. Before he could come and not be bothered. No one paid much attention to him, and he was left to wander to his own devices with only a nanny and maybe a guard or two to watch over him. But since the assassination attempt, he had round-the-clock supervision from knights, let alone the guards. He felt more like a child than he ever did when he was one. They didn’t let him do _anything_.

Sora sighed, and laid back, hands tucked behind his head. The rotting wood on the pier was harder than usual with the ice. He listened to the waves crash and break beneath and around him, and felt at peace with the world.

He wasn’t sure how long he stayed that way, but eventually the cold started to really get to him, and he decided he had to get back to the palace.

He heaved himself up and made the precarious way back along the pier and up the beach. A few of the inns were still open along the sea front, but with the cold, no one was really paying much attention to anyone else. Mostly people hurried by, scarves pulled over their heads. Sora breathed a sigh of relief, deciding it was too cold to take the long way back this time, and he could just take the main streets.

He scurred along, blending in with the other night-time stragglers. He passed the inns, where he could hear fiddlers and small bands playing music under the comforting hubbub of chatter. He passed a few houses, some with their windows still glowing, others that weren’t. It was late, but not too late. He shouldn’t get in too much trouble.

As he passed one of the small alleys, he heard a pained grunt, and a shuffling noise.

Sora tried to keep walking, but there was something about that voice.

“Hello?” he whispered into the darkness. “Is someone there? Are you OK?”

There was another shuffling noise, as though someone was getting up by a wall.

“I can help,” offered Sora to the disembodied noises, which had gone silent.

“I-” said the sound, which sounded familiar now, and was presumably a person. “Nngh,” said the person, and they made that shuffling noise again, and Sora was pretty sure they’d just collapsed against the wall.

“It’s you,” cried Sora after a moment of thought, and he plunged into the dark alley to help. Once his eyes adjusted to the light he could see the hooded figure sat against the wall, hand clutching his abdomen. Sora rushed to his side, and pulled his hood down, trying to assess the damage. “Are you OK? What’s wrong?”

The figure pulled his own hood down in a single jagged movement, exhaling heavily as he did so, and Sora felt a flash of recognition he couldn’t quite place. The silver hair, the pointed nose, the clouded blue eyes he somehow knew were usually intense and focused.

“I,” said the person breathlessly and with great effort, “got stabbed.”

It was almost a question.

Sora lifted the hand that was clutching his stomach, and grimaced.

“Yeah, you did,” he said, pushing the hand back down. “Press on that. I’ll get some help. Don’t move.”

He lifted himself up, but a bloodied hand pawed at his shin.

“No,” said the person, looking up at him from the floor. There was a terrifyingly pleading look in his eyes. Sora had only seen that look once before. “Don’t go, don’t leave.”

Of course. Whoever did this might come back.

Sora’s stomach rolled over, and he gulped down a fiery mouthful of panic. The last time he had been around someone who had just been stabbed, help had come almost instantaneously. Not that he was around people who got stabbed often, but he always wanted to be in control of any new situation, so he had watched studiously. He just needed to remember exactly what needed to be done.

Before he could do anything however, footsteps began to echo through the alleyway, accompanied by a frosty crunch. Sora suddenly became aware of how far away the sounds of people chattering in the next street over really were. How quickly could people reach them if he shouted? Would they even hear him?

“Well, look who we have here,” said someone, stepping through the gloom towards him.

Sora grit his teeth, and made a decision. He bent back down to the man on the floor, who was breathing heavily.

“Do you have any weapons on you?” the man said through pained breaths.

Sora looked up and shook his head, keeping his eyes focused on the men coming towards them.

“I’ve changed my mind,” said the man next to him, each word sounding like it cost him. “You should go. Quickly.”

Sora looked at him with concern. He couldn’t just leave him. He was dying - he wasn’t going to let him be outright killed, no matter who he might be or what he might have done. If he was in Destati, he was under Sora’s care, though much more directly at this point in time than anyone usually would be. And besides, he _knew_ him, he was sure of it. His heart felt too big for his chest; he could feel it hammering too hard and too fast.

“That’s right,” came a voice to his left, where the entrance to the alleyway he had just come through was. “You should go.” Sora and the man by his side were trapped. “Or at least - you should have left Riku here long ago. It was nice of you to lead us to him for us.”

They were surrounded now. Three large men, much larger than both Sora and this man-

“Riku?” Sora looked at him. He didn’t recognise the name. So why did he feel like he knew him?

“Yes, _your Highness_ ,” said one of the men.

Sora didn’t like the way the man smirked as he said that.

Riku shifted next to him.

“What do you want?” Sora asked. “You here to finish him off?”

The men laughed at once.

“No, kinglet, we’re here to finish _you_ off.” Sora felt his blood freeze. “We’ll patch him up just fine.”

Sora didn’t know where to look.

Riku let out a small whine, so quiet that Sora was sure only he heard it, and then the man moved. Still clutching his stomach, Riku pushed Sora forcibly behind him, and faced the men on his feet. Sora was so penned in he couldn’t stand. He was suddenly very unsure of what was happening, and for the first time in a long time, wished he had his band of knights around him.

“You won’t hurt him,” growled Riku, and Sora felt a wave of cold terror crash through him. What was happening? What did these men want? What did _Riku_ want?

The man at the front of the pack, clearly the leader of the three of them, rolled his eyes. He had an eyepatch and a nasty scar. Sora wondered what you had to be capable of to gain such a menacing aura.

“Don’t get all soft on us now, Riku, it’s just a job,” he said, crossing his arms. “You shouldn’t have followed us out here, getting yourself stabbed by the peasantry when you were supposed to be all tucked up in bed.” He seemed to consider Riku for a moment, then gave a sharp look to Sora. “Oh well - I guess it worked out well enough for us.”

“I won’t let you take him.” Riku wobbled a little on his legs.

“Was that why you came out here - to save him from us? Is that why you always acted so interested whenever the royal jobs came up?” The man had an exaggerated way of speaking. “Come on, let’s get going, grab the little prince and go. You can come back with us alive, or bleed out right here. It doesn’t matter to me, but the boy comes with us either way.”

Riku slowly and painfully pulled a dagger out of his cloak and shifted into a braced stance, wincing only once. Sora’s heart stuttered.

“He’s not yours to take. You can run back and tell the boss I’m done.”

The eyepatch man cocked his head to the side for a moment, then he blew out and opened his arms up wide, with a slightly maniacal smile.

“I always knew you’d be a traitor,” he said, pulling out what looked like a miniature crossbow.

Sora realised he hadn’t been breathing, because all at once his throat closed up, and he choked on a breath he tried to expel. Instead he started coughing, and his movement knocked Riku’s unsteady legs forward. Riku used the momentum to push at the eyepatch guy, catching him unaware. Sora caught a glimpse of Riku pushing the dagger upwards and into the man, as a crossbow bolt pinged uselessly at the alley wall and bounced off onto the icy cobbles.

With a look of fury, Riku twisted the blade.

“You are not to touch him.”

The eyepatch guy gave one last antagonising smirk, before choking out, “I hope he’s worth it.” He fell back on one of his cronies, and together the three of them scurried away into the night.

Riku heaved breaths for a moment, while Sora felt frozen in place. It was as though time had stopped for a second. And then suddenly it all collapsed back into hyperspeed, as Riku choked out a few stuttered pants and then fell onto Sora, who caught him deftly in his arms. He was frozen solid.

This man - Riku - had sacrificed himself for Sora, abandoned whoever it was he’d been working with. And Sora was sure he knew him.

A tide of fear swept over Sora’s bones, and he realised he was suddenly very very afraid that this man would die. He had saved his life - no matter what else Riku had done - he had saved Sora’s life.

“Guards!” shouted Sora, pressing his hand down onto Riku’s wound as he cradled him. “Hey! Anybody!”

* * *

Sora was in big trouble for leaving the palace by himself, and even bigger trouble for bringing a bloodied, unconscious man back with him. But at least Sora had found him, and at least he was alive.

2.  
Sora was trying - he really was trying to enjoy the evening. He was laughing at jokes, and nodding enthusiastically whenever someone spoke to him. He was pretending to smile when nothing was happening, but after a while he thought that might seem a little creepy, so he stopped doing that. With each course of delicious looking food, his already minimal appetite tightened more and more, until he couldn’t eat anything. He was trying not to resign himself to the awful fact that when you’re actively trying to enjoy something, that usually means you’re really not.

The evening had started off so well too. But if one more advisor came to yell at him for stuff he hadn’t even done yet, like wandering off - or making a fool of himself - or worse yet, compared him to _Ven_ then he was going to lose his mind.

Sora just wanted to go to bed. _No,_ he thought, looking out at all of the people having fun around him. He just wanted to talk to someone.

He had his elbow curled up beneath him against the table he sat at, head resting in his hand.

He watched as one of the clerks he recognised from the admin bureau passed by, her gaze focused on the floor as she went.

“Hey,” he called out. “Selphie?”

Selphie looked up, her eyes wild and panicked.

“Your Highness,” she said, garbling the words, and curtseying. “Can I help you?” She curtseyed again.

Sora furrowed his brow.

“I just wanted to ask how your evening was going,” he said. “It’d be a shame to have a ball for the castle staff, and not get feedback. Make sure we can make it better next year.”

Selphie raised an eyebrow, then quickly lowered it, ushering her face back to its slightly manic look of deference.

“Yes, your majesty, I’m having a great time.”

Sora leaned forward across the table.

“No, but really,” he said, deploring. “I saw you talking to that guy over there,” he edged an eyebrow towards the boy. Annoyingly, he didn’t know his name, but he was sure he worked in the guest wing of the castle, doing mostly laundry. Sora always saw him when he was trying to find peace and quiet in the airing rooms. “Is it going well?” he asked, smiling.

Selphie’s features flushed quickly and she leaned forward too, and Sora thought she was hiding her face from him. But then she tiptoed forward, and whispered conspiratorially, “It’s going very well actually. He’ll only take a few more hours to crack I think.”

Sora snorted merrily. “I wish I had your confidence.”

She looked up in shock, nearly spluttering. “ _You_ wish you had _my_ confidence?” she asked, laughing despite herself.

Sora laughed too. “What?” he said. “What - honestly.”

“Well,” she said, snorting slightly. Sora thought she might be a little drunk. Her face went very serious all of a sudden. “You’re a _prince_.”

She stared at Sora for a moment, and Sora stared back. Then they both started laughing.

“Yes, very good,” came a smarmy, sobering voice behind Sora. “I think you’ll find Sora is a King-In-Waiting. Thank you, miss. You’ll be on your way now.”

Sora didn’t look behind him to see who it was, instead he looked apologetically at Selphie as she flashed him an anguished look then scurred off. Hopefully to chat up her boy some more.

Sora swivelled around in his seat.

“Why did you do that?” he asked the impassive face before him.

Xehanort tapped his fingers against his folded arms.

“It’s not right for you to talk to the servants. You know how we feel after you brought back that man-“

“She’s a clerk,” Sora said snappily, turning back round to face the room again, trying to ignore the leap in his heart when Xehanort had mentioned “that man.” He flopped back onto his hand. “Not that it matters. I’ll talk to anyone I like. They’re all people.”

He heard Xehanort sigh behind him.

“This is not proper - you know Ventus would never act in such a-“

Sora’s head dropped right onto the tabletop, his forehead making a loud bang as he did so. Xehanort gasped dramatically, which brought Sora a moderate amount of joy.

“I’m tired of hearing about Ventus,” he muttered to the wooden planks.

“What was that?” Xehanort hissed.

Sora lifted his head and turned to look at his advisor.

“I think I said I’m going to go for a walk.”

Xehanort’s features contorted.

Before he could say anything, Sora cut in with, “Not outside the castle.” He crossed his heart. “I promise.”

Before Xehanort could say anything else, Sora vaulted himself off his chair and half ran, half walked towards a door out of the hall. He couldn’t stand that man, and never had. Before this whole King-In-Waiting business, Sora had never really had to deal with him. But ever since his mother had abdicated and left instructions for Sora to be looked after by the advisors she had trusted the most after her own, he had been lumped with Xehanort and his cronies. He had never quite forgiven her for it, especially since he was trapped in the dreary castle at Destati, while she swanned off on fun adventures with her cool advisors like Eraqus - who were her own age, and also her actual friends.

Sora strode down a busy corridor full of revellers wearing all sorts of different colours. Having a party made the castle feel like a much bigger place than usual. Sora just wished he could blend in a bit more, or at least when people stopped to let him pass and wish him good fortune, he would rather they did it from a place of friendship than just because they were paid to. He smiled and wished them good fortune back though.

At least he wasn’t being heavily guarded. It was probably the only party of the year he wasn’t; everybody in the castle was thoroughly vetted beforehand so there were no loose cannons who might potentially want to commit nearly-regicide. Well - _almost_ everybody in the castle at that moment had been thoroughly vetted.

Sora picked up his pace, suddenly realising where he wanted to go. Exactly who he wanted to talk to.

He hurried through the corridor as fast as he could, passing a few rooms as he went. The partygoers became more infrequent the further along the corridor he was, scattering out more into conspiratorial pairs and romantic couplings. Sora sighed.

He passed a door which was slightly ajar, yellow light spilling out into the dusky corridor. He intended to hurry past it, as he did with the others, but then he caught the sound of a familiar voice.

”-but Ventus has the politicians,” it said, the voice floating to Sora in a haughty snippet. It didn’t sound good. He paused.

“That doesn’t change the fact that Sora has the people,” replied a second voice. Also familiar.

Xemnas and Ansem, two of Xehanort’s cronies. Sora’s “advisors”. A wave of ice shivered through him as he realised what they were saying. He knew people compared him to his cousin a lot, but this sounded more serious - more political. Sora hated politics.

“We’ll have to wait until the convention next month to make a decision. The crown can’t be left in such disarray when war is so close.”

Sora furrowed his brow. _War?_ He knew they were going to Hikari, the capital, next month, but what did they mean by disarray? The crown was fine; it was being kept until Sora completed his regency training and took over from Ven who was only acting as regent in the time being. Sora trusted Ven - was he not meant to?

“And with Ventus being that much older, and more experienced with diplomacy. He’s been left to run the capital for years now. He has much better connections with Hollow Bastion than Sora.”

“Indeed, it looks troubling for our princeling.”

Sora rushed onwards. He didn’t want to hear anymore of what they had to say. Politics was too boggling for him and he would rather not hear it at all.

He decided to leave the corridors altogether, and jumped over a nearby semi-wall and into the grassed courtyard, where a few party people were lounging and chattering in the cold. The huge phoenix-shaped fountain in the centre made a gentle pattering noise against the night air, the stream twinkling in the moonlight. Sora breathed in deeply.

He knew who he was looking for, but he wasn’t sure how to find him. He wasn’t even sure why he was looking for him. He just wanted to see him.

He stepped across the courtyard, feet crunching on the frosty ground, then leapt over another semi-wall into a different area of the castle.

It was warm here, they must have lit the fires in this part of the castle too.

He rounded a corner, then headed through another internal corridor where he knew the guards tended to hang out. They might know where to find him. He heard some chatter coming from one of the rooms, and through a crack in the door he could see a shock of blonde hair. Hayner. He might know, and if he didn’t, he’d be with Olette who would definitely know.

He bounded forward and flung the door fully open.

_Ah._

Hayner, Olette and Riku sat together at a table in the cosy room, playing cards. A fire was lit, blasting heat into the small comfortable space. Sora suddenly found himself sweating in his layers.

“Uh,” said Hayner, his hands dropping, showing all his cards. He definitely hadn’t been winning.

“Your Highness,” said Olette, standing up quickly, her chair scraping back on the stone floor, dragging a rug with it.

“Yes,” said Hayner, standing up slowly. “Your Highness.” He smiled and rubbed a hand behind his head abashed.

Sora opened his mouth to say something, but found he had no words as he watched Riku raise a single eyebrow, and carefully pull his chair back to stand up.

“Your Highness,” he said softly, lowering his eyes. He had very long eyelashes.

Sora was used to people showing deference, but he felt a tide of heat wash to his face.

“I-” he said. Then shook his head. “Sit down. It’s fine, I was just looking for Riku.”

Riku’s head quirked up in response. His eyebrow nudged up ever so slightly more, though it less mocking and more questioning this time. He sat back down.

Hayner and Olette glanced at each other.

“No problem, your maj,” said Hayner. ”I mean, majesty. We’ll be off then.”

“No, no, no,” Sora raised his hands. “No, you don’t have to leave. I just wanted to - talk. To people. The party got boring.”

Hayner worried his lip for a moment, looking at Olette, who just smiled.

“We need to see to other things anyway, thank you, your Highness.”

Sora stepped back to let the pass.

“Well,” he said. “OK then. Maybe I can play cards with you guys next time.”

Olette nodded, and bowed as she went. Hayner saluted him, earning a small kick from Olette. He bowed properly.

Sora watched as they left. Once they thought they were out of sight, they started laughing and running. He rubbed a hand against his eye, and turned to Riku. Riku was staring at him, a thoughtful look on his face.

“What?” said Sora.

“Just wondering what on earth it could possibly be that you would want to talk to me about.”

Sora shrugged helplessly, and pulled out one of the vacant chairs to sit opposite Riku.

“Do you know why they’re acting all weird?” he asked. “They used to act like they were my friends once.”

Riku’s fingers hovered over the cards on the table, as though he was going to pick them up, then his hand slid back down into his lap.

“Yes,” he said. “I do know why actually.”

Sora leaned forward across the table towards the man, who looked a little shocked by Sora’s sudden movement.

“Why?” asked Sora breathlessly. Finally someone who might talk to him like an actual person.

Riku considered Sora for a moment with a thoughtful glance.

“First of all, it’s important to note - I think they are still your friends.”

Sora blinked, his breath hitching.

“Apparently a few weeks ago one of your advisors told everyone they were to stop being so informal with you, and that they had to treat you as they would anyone in your position,” Riku paused, watching Sora carefully. Sora flopped backwards in his chair, suddenly aware of how manic he must appear. He touched a discarded card on the table, not wanting to look Riku in the eye. “Apparently it’s for your own good. Politically speaking.”

Sora looked elsewhere. Out the tiny window in the corner of the room. Anywhere but Riku. Sora’s face felt too hot.

“Politically speaking, it sounds like they’re just making my life miserable,” he sniffed, trying not to let the scratch in the back of his throat show.

Somewhere in his periphery, Sora saw Riku tidy up his hand of cards. He placed them in a small pile in the middle of the table, but didn’t touch any of the others scattered around them.

Sora poked at one of them.

The fire crackled and hissed softly. A light patter against the window indicated that it had started to rain. Riku breathed out loudly, and it sounded comfortable, like he was happy - despite being in such a uncomfortable position. He didn’t have a job here - yet. He was just casually hanging out with the King-In-Waiting when he was technically under investigation, and was only in the castle because Sora had dragged him there personally, after they had saved each others’ lives. He was stuck because Sora was keeping him there - though, not exactly against his will. Riku could walk out any moment he liked. But he hadn’t so far, because Sora had asked him to stay.

The night after Sora had brought Riku back, and there had been questions and lectures and arguments, after Sora had managed to get first aid to his mysterious saviour, Sora had returned to the man’s side to see how he was. Riku had cracked open one eye, and smiled warmly, almost laughing. Then his face had gone serious, and sad.

_”Why did you save me?”_ he had asked.

Sora had replied honestly, how could he not save a stranded man.

He hadn’t mentioned how Riku had made his heart beat a little too fast, or how when he blinked Sora wanted to stare at his eyelashes forever.

Riku had moved to get up, wincing slightly, but Sora had put a hand on his torso.

_”Don’t,”_ he had said. _”Stay.”_

And he hadn’t told him to leave yet. And for whatever reason, Riku hadn’t. Now was the time to tell Riku why.

“I want you to be one of my personal guards,” Sora said after a few moments of silence.

Riku, to his credit, did not laugh straight away.

“Me?” he said. “But - first of all, don’t you have to be a knight?”

Sora finally started collecting the cards that had been left strewn across the table.

“I’ll put my foot down.”

“That doesn’t make me a knight.”

“Yes, but _I’m_ the King-In-Waiting,” Sora said, looking very carefully at the cards he was piling into his hands, his gaze flickering up to see Riku’s reaction. “And I’ll have my foot down.”

Riku leaned back in his chair, a strange smile on his face. He looked amused, mildly shocked, and also slightly impressed all at once. He had a cocky way about him. Sora shucked off one of the layers of furs he had on him, unsure as to why he hadn’t earlier. The room really was very warm. Feeling Riku’s eyes on him, he felt very self-conscious all of a sudden.

“But why would you put your foot down?” Riku asked eventually.

Sora let the hint of a smile slip. “I just have a good feeling about you.”

“No offence, Sora, but that’s not exactly an airtight reason.” Sora looked up from the cards he was shuffling. Riku was looking at him with a steady, serious not-quite-glare. “In fact, it’s pretty reckless. This is the sort of thing that your advisors use against you.”

Sora huffed a breath, and began dealing the cards. They would use Riku against him anyway, and already were.

“I’m leaving to go to the capital soon, and I need people I trust,” he said. “I don’t trust all of my knights, but I trust you.”

Riku stared, open-mouthed.

“I’m actually speechless,” he said.

“I have that effect on people,” said Sora.

“Because of your stupidity?” Riku snapped back.

“Hey!”

“No, look, sorry,” said Riku, leaning back, covering his face with his hand. “It’s just - this is such a big decision to make. They haven’t even finished investigating me yet, it’s - Sora, it’s just so reckless.”

Sora snorted. “Now you sound like my advisors. And I don’t trust them either.”

Riku was quiet. Sora finished dealing the cards.

“Are you telling me you don’t want to be one of my personal guards?” he asked, and though initially he meant it jokily, he felt a touch of genuine concern drip into his voice. “I won’t be heartbroken, you know, I can handle rejection.”

Riku was stirred into action. “No, no, no,” he said, grabbing at the cards Sora had dealt in front of him. “I do,” he said. Sora felt something in his heart kick. “I do, of course I want to be in your personal guard. I would be honoured to serve you. What?”

Sora realised he was staring.

“N-nothing,” he said, and laid a shaky card from his deck between them.

Riku shook his head, and took a card from his own pile and put it between them, his hand brushing Sora’s.

He looked Sora in the eye, and Sora felt something almost excruciatingly warm break open inside his chest.

“Wait,” said Sora. “What are we playing?”

Riku looked down. “I ... have no idea.”

3.  
The road between Destati and Hikari was one of the best in the kingdom, but it was long, and since Xehanort had insisted on bringing a carriage, it was slow too.

Sora spent his time, caught between having more “lessons” with his advisors in the bumpy carriage, and being able to ride on his horse beside Riku and the knights, which was far more fun for a number of reasons.

“Firstly,” said Sora to the judgemental bird which was watching him from a tree branch as he washed, “being in that carriage _does_ make me travel sick. I’m not making that up. I threw up twice when Xemnas was trying to show me different types of budgets.” He shivered at the memory and rubbed the block of soap a little more vigorously over his arm. The bird chirped supportively. It was a sweet little pink and red bird, with a short feather crown. It reminded him of Kairi, a neighbouring princess who he had grown up with. “Secondly,” continued Sora to the Kairi bird, “yes, Riku _is_ very handsome - but it’s not like I’m actually, you know, it’s not that I actually _like_ him. It’s just - he saved my life from those people, and I saved his.”

Sora took a moment of quiet reflection when he thought about that night again.

Xehanort and the other advisors had been incensed at the idea of Riku being one of Sora’s personal guard when Sora had brought it up. He had put his foot down, like he said he would. But Riku had been incredibly unhelpful; he wouldn’t tell them why he had been in Destati that night, or who he had been working for, or even who had stabbed him. When they asked where Riku was from, he had just replied with the name of some tiny village on the other side of the kingdom.

Sora felt he was being difficult on purpose, but Riku remained tight-lipped. Almost daring Sora to just try and keep his foot down about having him as a personal guard despite his terrible testimonial. Which Sora had done, obviously.

“Because if I’m good at one thing,” he told the bird softly, “it’s judge of character.”

The bird tweeted sweetly and flew away

“Well,” said Sora, “that’s rude.”

He splashed his face in the river water, then dried off and put his shirt back on, and threw his toiletries in a loose satchel he put over a shoulder. They still had another few days until they got to Hikari, but Sora was just beginning to enjoy life on the road when he wasn’t being held back by his advisors.

Riku had taken an oath, specifically designed and written by the advisors for him and his supposed untrustworthiness. It had contained a lot of phrases like “I will have no contact with any unauthorised persons,” and “I shall serve no other master,” which had just seemed unreasonably excessive. The knights in his personal guard only had to say something about Sora being their king and under their protection. Riku’s had been a fifteen minute long dedication to Sora’s very personhood. And to his credit, he hadn’t stuttered through the whole thing. It had been memorised to the end.

Sora wished he could have looked away, because by the end his face had been burning up a firestorm.

Riku was also still pretty much under as much guard as Sora was - which Sora felt defeated the purpose. But he was grateful that the man was there with them. He found his presence soothing.

Sora whistled as he sauntered back through the forest towards the road.

After a few moments of wandering, he thought about how he hadn’t realised just how far from the road he had gone into the forest. After a few minutes more, he thought about how he might be lost. A few more minutes of not being able to find the road or the river he had just come from, he thought about how he was definitely lost.

“Ah,” he said to himself.

He turned back on the trail he thought he’d been following when he saw a curl of wild grey sheep’s wool clutching to a bit of scrub. He realised he’d been following an animal trail, and not his own.

Sora looked to the sky in anguish. He was going to be in so much trouble. He had just wanted to bathe on his own for a little bit, just a tiny bit of peace by himself with no knights or advisors getting at him about this and that. And now he was lost. And probably going to get killed by bandits or wild animals.

He backtracked a little down to where he’d been, and tried calling out before he got too scared of said bandits and wild animals. Then he tried following his nose, whatever good that might do now.

It led him to a sparser part of the forest, which seemed promising - the trees thinning out should mean the road would be close by. He breathed a short sigh of relief, before realising he had no recollection of this place, but before he could cry out in annoyance, he saw something sparkle ahead.

A large body of water lie through the trees beyond, where the forest thinned out completely.

He picked his way through the undergrowth to the edge of the trees and noticed there was a person in the lake.

Riku.

Sora could have cried with relief.

But then he saw that Riku was half-naked, and he could have just cried.

He looked away quickly, but couldn’t get the image of Riku’s muscled back, shining with water, out of his poor head. Riku’s leggings had been rolled up to just above his knees as he had bent down to cup water over his hair, which had clung to the back of his neck.

Sora blew out and tried to tease his heart back to a normal beat.

“Riku!” he shouted, looking up once again.

Riku turned around immediately, hands in his hair, showing off his arms. Sora experienced something that felt a lot like a punch to his gut.

“Sora?” he said as Sora began to rush towards him. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be with the knights?”

“I was with Ienzo,” he said, “but I - um, lost him.”

Riku shook his head, sending droplets of water flying. Sora shielded his face, partly from the water, partly from the view in front of him.

_Please put your shirt back on,_ Sora begged internally, while another part of him jerked at his chest in resistance, and Sora had to admit that that part of him definitely did not want Riku to put his shirt back on.

“I, uh, also got lost,” admitted Sora. “Just by myself.”

Riku chuckled, and it was a sight to behold. He rarely seemed to smile. Every time Sora made it happen, it felt as though his heart bloomed outside of his chest.

“I know the way back,” Riku told him. “Just give me a moment.” He bent down again to rinse his hair.

Sora sat down on a rock close to the water. Then stood up, and walked in a short circle. Then sat down again.

Riku stood up and looked at him questioningly.

Sora took his shoes off and waded into the lake.

“What are you doing?” asked Riku, looking mildly perturbed.

“It’s a nice lake,” said Sora. “It’s a nice day. I want to paddle.”

Riku raised an eyebrow. That devastatingly handsome eyebrow.

“You want to,” he repeated, “paddle?”

Sora nodded, then yelped as he slipped on a mossy rock. He crashed into the water, spluttering. But Riku was close enough by that he managed to save Sora from falling entirely on his behind.

He pulled Sora up, holding him close to his chest. Sora stared up at him, feeling the wetness of Riku’s torso dampen his own shirt. Riku looked down at him, breathing heavily.

Sora blew out a shaky breath. “Saved my butt again,” he breathed.

Riku’s expression didn’t change, though Sora couldn’t read it. It was very serious, too intense, far too intense for someone who was standing close enough to Sora that he could feel his breath on his nose, feel his thigh muscle against his own, pick out sharp strands of brown and white in his green, green eyes.

Then Riku let him go, gently. He left his hand on Sora’s shoulder as he pushed him away, then brushed it softly as he let go.

Sora held his arms against himself and looked at his feet, trying to map the moss on the rocks, but it was as though his mind couldn’t process anything beyond Riku and the beat of his heart.

“Sora, why did you save me that night?” asked Riku, and Sora realised he was still staring. Though his expression was less hard, and had broken to something more pleading. Sora couldn’t understand why.

He let himself look at Riku for a moment.

“I’ve already told you,” he said. “I couldn’t just let someone die.”

Riku’s gaze was imploring.

Sora stuttered. “I,” he began. “When I saw you dying, it reminded me of the last time I saw someone get hurt like that. My friend, Leon, he had been looking after me when I was younger, I was only fifteen or so. About ten years ago now. He had been one of my personal guard.” Sora gripped his arms closer to himself. “Before I had these knights, I had friends. And someone tried to kill me and Leon got in the way. He survived, but it was- I couldn’t let you die. I couldn’t let anyone die like that, but I-” Sora looked to the sky. “I couldn’t let you die.” Something suddenly occurred to him. “Oh Saints, maybe making you a guard was a bad idea. I don’t want you to get stabbed again.”

Riku stared at him, his expression once again hard and unreadable.

“I won’t.”

Sora breathed a sigh. “You promise?”

“I promise.”

Sora was getting cold in his wet shirt, and shivered. Riku took a step towards him.

“That’s good,” Sora said.

Riku stopped moving.

Sora took a step towards Riku.

“Riku, can I ask you something?”

Riku jerked his arm in some kind of aborted movement, then stayed still.

“You can ask.”

There was only a pace between them.

“I know you.”

“That’s not a question.” Riku looked down at Sora. “And also, I’m standing right here, of course you know me.”

Sora shook his head fervently. “No - I mean, I _knew_ you. I recognised you.”

Riku looked away.

Sora touched his chest. “Please, just tell me I’m not going crazy.”

Riku closed his eyes and shook his head.

“Sora...”

“Riku,” he pressed harder against Riku’s drying chest. Time seemed to stand still.

And in that frozen moment, Riku touched Sora’s jaw. Sora’s fingers against his chest curled, and went slack as Sora looked up at Riku. His gaze was flickering impassively at anywhere but Sora’s face. He seemed to be taking note of everything about Sora’s visage. He tucked some strands of hair behind Sora’s ear, and Sora’s eyes fluttered shut. He couldn’t take the seriousness of Riku’s expression.

Then Riku cupped his cheek and his audible sigh was hot against Sora’s skin. Sora’s eyes flew open.

They stared at each other, breaths long and heavy. Neither of them dared to look away.

Then Sora felt the rock give way beneath his foot, though he hadn’t been aware he had moved. He fell hard again, and Riku didn’t seem to have been ready to catch him, so he felt a hand grab at his arm and then Riku fell with him.

They tumbled into the water together, and Sora definitely felt a few sharp rocks scrape and possibly break skin on his legs and one of his arms. He thrashed out, searching for Riku’s arms again. Riku landed half on top of him making Sora hiss with pain. Riku immediately jumped up, concern across his features as he scanned Sora.

Sora made his way to his elbows, wincing slightly. The water was shallow enough that it just lapped at him.

“Sora,” Riku said tightly, his brow drawn as he leaned over Sora. “Where do you hurt?”

Sora groaned. “Everywhere,” he said, holding his palm to his face.

Riku huffed a laugh, and ran his fingers gently over one of the fresh scratches on Sora’s arm, the cool water soothing on the sting. In that moment, Sora became uncomfortably aware of how Riku was straddling him.

“You’re alright,” Riku said. “Just a few scrapes and bruises.”

“Easy for you to say,” grumbled Sora, but he let Riku help him up.

They waded to the shore, Riku staying close to Sora the entire time, which Sora felt was a little unfair. He had only fallen over twice.

Once they reached solid ground again, Riku practically flew from Sora’s side. He threw his shirt over his head and unrolled his leggings while Sora stood, shivering in his wet outfit. Riku wasn’t faring any better on the damp front though, but he was doing a lot better at pretending it didn’t bother him. Maybe it really didn't.

“We should go before they send the search parties out with extra orders for my head on a platter,” he said.

“Sure,” Sora replied. “Fine.”

Riku gave him one final look that Sora couldn’t understand, his frustration mounting, and they head off in silence.

For a few moments Sora followed Riku in silence, stomping through the undergrowth, finding he was no longer afraid of any bandits of wild animals. Then they heard a cry, and footsteps thumping towards them on the loamy earth.

“For Saints’ sake, Sora!” yelled Ienzo, a usually sweet-mannered knight who often had a smile on his face, a book his hands, and was very easy to escape from. “I thought I’d lost you.”

Sora breathed in carefully before he trusted himself to speak, then stuttered a laugh. “Sorry, Ienzo,” he said. “I was only washing. Riku was there, it was fine.”

He took a moment as Ienzo looked from Riku to Sora worriedly. He could feel the moment Riku physically cringed beside him. Sora suddenly realised how they must look, both nearly soaking wet.

“N-No, wait,” Sora added. “Not like that. Separately. I was washing in the river and he was-”

Ienzo drew a deep breath.

“Let’s not discuss the intricacies of it, shall we,” he said mercifully. “Let’s just not discuss it ever again. I won’t tell Ansem you ran away, if you don’t tell him I lost you.”

Sora scratched at his cheek which was growing hot with embarrassment.

“Deal,” he said, and began to walk back to the road.

In a moment, he realised the other two weren’t following. He turned back, but stopped himself from saying anything when he saw Ienzo had a hand on Riku’s shoulder, and was muttering something low to him.

Riku nodded once, and Ienzo nodded back, removing his hand.

He turned and smiled a little disingenuously at Sora. Sora smiled tightly back, but was more interested in Riku’s reaction. Riku was looking blankly into the middle distance, but just before Ienzo caught up to Sora and rushed him away, Riku realised he was looking. He gave Sora a small, sweet smile.

They hurried back to the road, where everyone was waiting. The knights patiently, the advisors less so.

“Sora,” said Xehanort with a sharp look on his face. “Ienzo, I trust there was no trouble.”

Ienzo pursed his lips, then shook his head.

Sora headed to his horse, but was stopped by Xehanort’s hand grabbing his shoulder.

“No, my boy,” said Xehanort. Sora hated that he was still called boy. He was a grown man - but then again, Xehanort was probably about 100. “It’s the carriage for you. We’re nearing Hikari. You’re not to travel by horse from here on.”

Riku chose that moment to emerge from the trees they had just been in.

“And you,” said Xehanort, leaving Sora to get in the carriage himself. He did not. “I need a word with you before we set off. I’ll be riding next to you.”

Ienzo coughed uncomfortably.

Sora furrowed his brow, but before he could question Xehanort, Ansem was ushering him forcibly into the carriage, where Xemnas was waiting with more taxation papers. Moments passed, and he could hear birds twittering, and the horses grumbling. There was a low conversation happening outside, but he couldn’t make it out, despite how desperately he tried to listen. He could definitely hear Riku’s voice in there somewhere, making quiet affirmative sounds, and then the conversation ended.

Sora thought about that look Riku had given him earlier.

“Yah!” cried the driver up front finally, and the carriage stirred into action.

Riku had looked just as lost and soft as Sora felt.


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riku gave Sora a sideways smile.
> 
> “Just because your wing is broken doesn’t mean you can’t fly.”
> 
> Two more times Sora found Riku, and the times Riku found Sora.

4.  
Sora poked at the fire nervously.

It had been a month since arriving in Hikari in his least favourite way of arriving anywhere, but especially the capital. He had been stuck in the back of a carriage where all the townsfolk who had lined the streets to see him, well, couldn’t. All he could do was stick his arm out of the window and hope that his hand was enough. When he was little he used to try and stick his head out of the carriage, but one time when Xemnas inevitably dragged his head back through the window, he had knocked it on the wooden sill and scraped away a large portion of neck skin. He still had a scar from that.

He made a public appearance a few hours after arriving, standing next to Ven, reading a pre-written speech about how good it was to see the people and how grateful he was to Prince Ventus for ruling justly and _blah blah blah_.

He hated being reminded that one day he would have to do all that - ruling. He had realised long ago that the best way to deal with any political conversation was to nod and pretend he knew what they meant.

He had tried to explain that to Riku on the first night they had snuck away in Hikari to have a secret meeting in a little library off Sora’s wing of the castle, where they wouldn’t be found. Where they could be friends without Xehanort finding out Sora had friends.

Riku had asked him why he hated giving pre-written speeches so much.

“Surely it’s easier,” he had said. “You don’t have to think about what you’re saying.”

Sora had shaken his head and looked over Riku’s shoulder,

“No, it’s not the words,” he’d said. “It’s just - knowing that I don’t _know_. I’m saying things I don’t understand. That’s so frustrating.” He had paused, unsure how to express himself. Out of the window, a small robin had fluttered by, its determined route reminding him of his cousin. “It’s like - Ven’s always been good at the politics thing. He took to it like a bird takes to the skies. But I feel like one of my wings is broken. Whenever people talk to me about politics and diplomacy and all that stuff, it’s like I’ve only been given half the facts.”

Riku had given Sora a sideways smile.

“Just because your wing is broken doesn’t mean you can’t fly.”

Sora had felt a rush of golden gratitude fill his chest seeing Riku smile at him that way. But it still wasn’t enough.

When they were younger, Ven had once told him it was all a matter of insight and chess. “You’re good at people right, Sora? Everyone loves you. So just use that. Not - against them, but for them. If you understand people, and understand the law, then politics is just sort of where those two things meet up.”

Sora would just nod and pretend he knew what he meant.

“Listen,” Riku had said after Sora’s silence. “The people love you, any idiot can see that. That’s what counts.”

Sora had stared into the fire, and nodded in acknowledgement.

Yes, the people loved Sora. But there wasn’t any trick to it. They just did.

Since arriving in Hikari, Sora had been allowed out of the castle exactly zero times. In fact, he had been allowed outside of his wing exactly zero times. He had seen Leon and Yuffie which was nice, but then they’d had to rush off to carry on with their Ven duties, now that they were in his personal guard. He had seen Ven a handful of times, usually under heavy supervision. He had seen Xehanort too many times, Xemnas too.

The only thing that made the situation bearable was the fact that he had been with Riku exactly six times. Nearly seven.

The man was still under investigation of course, but as far as Sora knew they still hadn’t found anything suspicious, despite how hard they were looking. Riku wouldn’t tell him what Xehanort had said to him on the road to Hikari, but when Sora had asked Ienzo, the man had just said something about some village in the hills. Whatever that meant.

The door creaked, and Sora bounced to his feet. Riku peered round the door, and slipped into the room.

“Hey,” he whispered, a soft smile on his face.

Sora beamed.

“Hi,” he said.

The fire crackled noisily.

Riku shivered. “It’s cold out there,” he said. “Winter’s really coming in.”

Sora nodded, and stoked the fire some more, but he just managed to push some already charred coal off the main flame.

“Here,” said Riku. “I’ll do it. Gives me a chance to warm up.”

Sora handed Riku the poker, trying not to let the atmosphere change when his hand accidentally brushed Riku’s.

Riku bent to the fire, and Sora slumped back into one of the armchairs next to it. The room was small, but lined with books and rugs. He liked to call it the “secret library,” even though it wasn’t exactly secret. It was just like any other room, but inside it felt secretive. It felt as though they were the only two people in the world. There was only one window, but in the winter it was kept closed and with the early darkness of the evenings, it only added to the effect.

Riku leant back on his feet, the fire at a rage now. He stared into it, and Sora watched the light flicker on his face for a moment, but he turned away quickly, scared Riku would catch him looking.

Eventually Riku stood up and stretched, lengthening his limbs until there was an audible ‘pop’. He cringed and threw Sora an apologetic look, but Sora smiled. Sora grabbed the book on the table next to his armchair.

“ _Crossing the Mountain Pass_ ,” he said outloud, “by Fa Mulan.”

Riku pulled off his boots. “Enjoying it?” he said as he sat in the armchair opposite, taking up his usual position of one foot on top of the other knee, leaning too far forward for him to really even appreciate the comfort of the armchair. Sora drew his brow in as he always did, and made a quick assessment of his own seated pose, which involved both his legs draped over one arm while he curled into the chair itself.

_No,_ he concluded as he always did. _I’m the one who’s sitting properly. He is the one who is sitting wrong._

Sora shrugged. “It’d be more fun if I felt I could actually go out and do it myself. You know, cross a mountain pass with only my survival skills to keep me going.”

“Sora, you got lost a hundred yards into a wood.”

“I was distracted that day.”

Riku smirked. “What by? A squirrel?”

“Hey!”

Riku put his finger to his lips, his eyes darting to the door where soft thuds could be heard outside. Sora often forgot that it wasn’t _actually_ sound-proof in their secret library.

The soft thuds walked on past the door.

“Nice one, Your Highness.”

“They didn’t hear me!”

Riku threw one of his boots at Sora. It hit him gently on the thigh. “Stop shouting already.”

Sora threw the boot back, and it landed with a light _thwack_ against Riku’s chest.

“Ow,” the man said, rubbing the spot that had hit him.

“There’s no way that hurt you,” said Sora, rolling his eyes. “Big strong, muscly Riku bothered by a little boot.”

Riku snorted softly. “Muscly?” He had stopped rubbing his chest, and Sora did notice with a little pang of guilt that a little mud mark had been left behind.

Sora turned back to the book, cheeks flushing.

“Hm,” said Riku. “Big strong, muscly Riku has a nice ring to it.”

“Remind me why I spend time with you,” said Sora, wondering if he pressed his face any further into the book Riku would believe he was actually reading it.

Riku went quiet instead.

After a moment or two of the fire whispering into the silence, Sora let the book drop to his chest. Riku was staring at the floor intently.

“What is it?” Sora asked.

Riku looked up. He held the arms of the chair tightly, then let go and rubbed his hands together, warming them on the fire.

“Why _do_ you spend time with me like this?” Riku asked. “Don’t you care about the consequences?”

Sora shrugged, and laid his head back against the arm of the chair.

Riku stood up to linger by the fire, and Sora felt the chill of Riku’s presence as it attracted all of the warmth away from the rest of the room.

“I’d rather spend time with you than not,” said Sora. “It’s not like we’re breaking the law. The worst Xehanort can do is try to stop us from spending more time together. Besides, the investigation will be over soon, and then we can spend as much time together as we like.”

Riku made patterns over the firelight with his fingers.

“They finished the investigation,” he said.

Sora sat up.

“When did you find out?”

“On the way to Hikari.”

Sora furrowed his brow. “You mean, when Xehanort spoke to you...”

Riku clasped his hands behind his back, then released them. He leant down to squat by the fire, as though about to stoke it again, then abruptly stood up. He didn’t seem to know what to do for a moment, before he just sat back down in his armchair.

“Yeah,” he said.

Sora’s mouth fell open in annoyance.

“You mean - you - this whole time - why didn’t anybody tell me?”

Riku sat forward on his thighs, hands held together with an elbow on each knee.

“Because I asked them not to.”

Sora rushed off his chair, almost landing in a heap by the fireside.

“Why!”

“Sora, the door-”

“Who cares about noise! Apparently we’ve been free to meet together without worrying about anyone finding us for a month - a whole month!”

Riku fiddled with his thumbs and stared at the corner of the rug nearby. Sora shuffled forwards towards him on his knees.

Riku sighed. “They found out where I’m from, and determined I’m not a threat. Xehanort told me he didn’t like it, but that as long as I had your best interests at heart then I’m free to be a fully fledged member of your personal guard.”

Sora felt a lungful of relief like a fresh breeze on a clear night. He moved a further crouch forward, inches from Riku’s legs.

“So why has it been like this?” he asked. “Why all the secrecy?”

“I wanted to leave you be, you had too much on your plate at once. I didn’t want to distract you.”

Sora raised an eyebrow. “But you did anyway?”

“No - you were the one who came to me, and asked to meet me here that first time. And I did, because- Well anyway, and then it just kept on happening and I didn’t know how to tell you.”

Sora thought back to that night. It had been a week since arriving in Hikari, and he hadn’t seen Riku once. He had lay awake in his bed, staring at a carved ceiling. As quickly as the thought had entered his mind, he was out of the bedroom door with his boots on. He had quietly slipped past his guards for the night, and marched all the way to the east wing barracks, and found Riku’s room. He’d gently nudged the man awake.

In the soft lamplight of that small room, Riku had sat up in alarm, but Sora quietened him with a finger to his mouth.

_”It’s just me, come on.”_

Then he’d led Riku to the library, where they spent hours. Sora had managed to convince himself that he just needed a friend, and Riku seemed to be fine with it. Every time they met, they just read or talked about nothing. Sora still didn’t know anything about Riku, but he still felt he knew him. He felt he knew him well. He didn’t have to know Riku’s history to know he was good, and brave, and supportive.

Sora closed the gap, and rested his forehead against Riku’s knee. Riku stilled.

“You’re an idiot.”

There was a long pause before Riku said, “I know.”

Sora stayed there, feeling the warmth of Riku’s legs against his cheek. Eventually Riku reached down and ran a hand through Sora’s hair. Sora let out a breath he hadn’t known he’d been keeping. The hand was big and rough, and felt like safety.

“Sora,” Riku breathed.

Sora looked up. Riku was watching him carefully.

“What’s wrong?” asked Riku after a moment, retracting the hand.

“I’m,” Sora began, then stopped. Sora wasn’t sure what was wrong. He just knew something big was happening inside of him; some vast continental aspect of his world started to judder out of place. But he couldn’t place it. He shuffled his legs forward some more, before resting his arms on Riku’s knees, and perching his head. “I don’t think I can be a king”

Riku leant back, but only a short distance. His hand hovered near Sora’s arm for a while before deciding to land there. “Why not?” he asked.

“Just - the usual stuff. Politics, war, Ventus.”

“Ah.”

“They’re constantly comparing me to him. I know I won’t do the job like he can, but I wish they wouldn’t rub it in all the time.”

Riku’s thumb caressed Sora’s arm slowly.

“It’ll be OK.”

Sora watched the thumb on his arm, its gentle circles, the speck of dirt under the nail, the slender bridge between the knuckles. Somehow, when Riku said it, it felt real. It felt like it would be OK.

Riku had the hands of a pianist. His fingers were long and slim, but he knew too that they felt warm and large. They were welcoming hands.

Riku’s thumb had stopped moving. And then his hand was moving towards Sora’s cheek.

Sora looked up as Riku sighed heavily. His breath was sweet, and smelt like the cinnamon tea you could only get from certain cooks when they were in a good mood. Sora had fetched it for Riku himself.

Riku’s eyelashes were so long, and his eyes were so green.

His hand was on his face, and Sora was leaning up as Riku leaned down.

“Sora,” Riku whispered and Sora suddenly felt as though the floor was moving beneath him. He was no longer on the ground, but floating; a shimmering spirit shivering in the air, not quite part of the real world.

Then Riku kissed him.

Sora moved up to meet him, his eyes shut, and his own hands reaching into Riku’s hair as Riku’s grazed his cheeks, his chin, his neck.

There were a few moments of pure blankness, where all Sora felt was the blinding relief of the kiss, the soaring, whooping joy of it. And then there was a sudden surge. He pushed off his knees, forcing Riku backwards, but Riku didn’t seem to mind. He pushed back with just as much force. Teeth clattered against teeth, hot breaths steamed against open mouths.

There was a soft knock at the door.

Sora scurried away from Riku helplessly. He felt hot and cold, he didn’t know where to look. He plopped himself in the armchair opposite a second before the door cracked open.

“Sora?” came a voice. It was Ven.

“Uh,” said Sora, trying to stop the tremor in his voice. He tried to stop himself from looking over at Riku, but he couldn’t help it. “Come in?” His voice broke on the first word, as he saw Riku looking wide eyed and lost, and a little red around his top lip.

Ven shuffled inside, closing the door behind himself quickly.

“Demyx said you’d be in here.”

Sora gave Riku another glance, but he didn’t look in Sora’s direction. They weren’t as secretive as they thought they were - especially if Demyx had figured out where they were. Instead Riku stood up, and made a small bow to Ven.

Sometimes, in the cosy glow of the library, Sora forgot that protocol had to be adhered to, and that he shouldn’t just rest his head against a person’s legs because they felt comfortable. Sometimes he shouldn’t just kiss people. Sometimes he forgot that there were structures in place that made the world a lot less fair than it should be.

Sora stood up, and made his small bow to Ven too. It had been years since they had spoken like cousins, and he suddenly didn’t know if that was how Ven saw things or not.

Thankfully Ven pulled a face and waved a hand at him.

“Please, Sora, don’t,” he said in that quick manner Sora had almost forgotten existed, after all the formal occasions he’d seen Ven perform at. “Can I talk to you alone?”

Ven gave Riku a glance.

“Of course,” said Riku, just as Sora replied, “No.”

Riku looked at Sora.

“No, he’s fine,” repeated Sora to Ven. “He can be trusted.”

Sora didn’t want to be left alone with his cousin, who knew more about politics than Sora ever would. He was about to take over from Ven, and if Ven was about to leave him with some nuggets of wisdom, he wanted someone around who could actually understand what they meant, rather than the wisdom to be thrown into the abyss that was Sora’s mind when it came to these topics.

Ventus looked to Riku, who gave Sora one last glance, then stood a little more solidly. He nodded confidently.

Ventus shrugged.

“OK,” he said, pulling a chair out from the small wooden table in the middle of the room. “I just wanted to - I just feel like things have been really awkward, and I don’t like it.”

He sat down for emphasis.

Sora blinked, then hurried to sit at the table himself.

“Me too!”

Ven gestured widely. “Everyone’s been acting like you’re the enemy, like we should hate each other - but the thing is, when the time comes, I’ll be happy to step down for you.”

“You would? But you’re so good at it.”

“It’s not my role. The people don’t like me like you. They tolerate me for now, but even if I had any stupid ambitions to take your throne, they would crush me in an instant.”

Sora sat back.

“Besides, I wouldn’t want to anyway.” Ven reached forward and grabbed Sora’s arm. “You’re my cousin, you’re family. No one else here is. We look out for each other.”

“Yeah,” said Sora, patting his cousin’s hand.

Riku was still stood behind him, hands behind his back, acting like a real personal guard.

“Are you excited?” asked Ven, pulling his hand back, and propping his head up with both hands.

“Excited?”

“To be king.”

“Oh,” said Sora. “Oh! Yeah, of course.”

He felt Riku shift behind him.

“It’ll be great, especially with you to help me out. I’m excited to - rule, and stuff.”

Ven laughed. “There’s really no need to be nervous. Not about ruling anyway, I’m sure you’ll be a natural. But... there was another thing I wanted to talk to you about though.”

His gaze flickered over Sora’s shoulder, where Sora knew Riku was stood. Ven nodded at Riku, then leant forward conspiratorially.

“You have to be careful, Sora,” he whispered. “People have been trying to keep us apart deliberately. I’m worried. I don’t know if they’ve even told you, but there’s war brewing with our neighbouring kingdom. I have a horrible feeling there’s some people who will use anything to make it seem as though you’re not worthy of being king, but Sora, you are. Don’t let them use me against you. Promise me. I have your back all the way.”

Sora felt his palms start to sweat, he stuttered for words for a moment. Behind him Riku suddenly made a move.

“Excuse me,” the man said, and with that he left the room in a few swift strides.

Ven drew his brow.

“Is he alright?” he asked. “He stood there looking pretty constipated that whole time.”

Sora shook his head. “He’s just - awkward. He’s good though, I promise.”

“Don’t worry, I trust your instincts.” Ven stood. “Don’t forget, Sora. I’m with _you_.”

Sora nodded, then cracked a smile.

“Thank you, Ven.”

“Of course. I’ll see you later, at some other feast or something just as boring,” Ven stuck his tongue out and turned on his heel to leave.

Sora scraped his chair back. He watched Ven leave with a smile, and grinned back.

He and Ven were friends. That was good. That was something familiar. And maybe, when he became king, Ven would stay and be an advisor.

Sora turned to look in the fire, but he found his eyes drifted towards the armchair. The armchair where he had just kissed Riku. Very unashamedly and very eagerly, kissed Riku. And Riku kissed him back. Or did Riku kiss him in the first place? Either way, they kissed each other. Kissed.

Sora hadn’t kissed someone in years. Nobody ever seemed to want to get close enough to a prince.

He shouldn’t be thinking about this now, not when there was impending war and internal factions, and all that political stuff that Sora hated but really needed to start getting a grip with.

He touched his cheek, where Riku’s hot hand had brushed him. He could still feel the burn of it.

He had to find Riku.

Sora shivered in the corridor. It was chilly after the cosy warmth of the library and its fireplace. The stone walls were holding in the winter cold, and there weren’t any wall hangings to insulate it.

A few years earlier Sora had convinced his mother to sell most of the castle’s tapestries after a drought left half the kingdom starving. With the proceeds, they’d been able to buy grain from a neighbouring kingdom to last them two winters. Sora didn’t regret that decision necessarily, but he did sometimes wish the courtiers hadn’t tried to punish Sora for that by leaving his wing with nothing.

It didn’t matter. Riku had kissed him. He floated down the cold corridor as though the chill couldn’t touch him. Riku had _kissed_ him.

He practically skipped towards his rooms, hoping Riku had gone in that direction. But when he got there, there was no sign of him.

Troubled, Sora decided to try the guards barracks.

He nodded and waved to the guards he passed. They were crotchety in response, as usual.

Riku wasn’t in the barracks mess hall, or his room.

Sora touched the doorframe gingerly, then turned on his heel. Where would Riku have gone? It wasn’t the kitchens - Riku didn’t get on with the kitchen staff, that was why Sora had to get tea for him. It wouldn’t be the other wings either as Riku wouldn’t have permission to wander them freely. Maybe the gardens... but no, it was too cold.

Sora wandered back to the library, the only place he could think of that had meaning to Riku.

What if Riku was regretting what he did?

The library was empty.

Sora sighed and stepped in for the warmth. The fire was still going, but only just. It crackled, threatening to go out. He poked at it until it flared, and a lump of coal tumbled into place, catching light.

Riku might come back if he waited. Maybe Riku had already come back, and left again when Sora wasn’t there.

“Urgh.”

Sora had a bad habit for fidgeting. He found himself dancing his fingers across the armchairs, and tapping against the wood of the chairs by the table.

The table. There were papers that hadn’t been there earlier. How long had Sora been gone? It must have been at least a half hour or so.

He furrowed his brow, and shuffled the papers, trying to figure out what they were about. They seemed to be a report of some kind. He flicked through to find a list titled ‘KNOWN SPIES AND ALIASES’.

Sora sat down to have a better look. Was he supposed to have found these? Was he allowed to see them?

A name stood out to him on one of the sheets.

_Riku._

He reread the title, and the description.

Known Spies and Aliases. Spies for the kingdom they were supposedly on the brink of war with. These were the names they were known to go by.

Sora reread that familiar name.

_Riku. Family unknown. From a small village named Destan in the valleys on the border. Aged approximately 25. Silver hair, green eyes. Very dangerous. High ranking. Often travels with Xigbar (see Sheet 4.2), Lexaeus (see Sheet 4.7), and Xaldin (see Sheet 4.5)._

Sora rifled through more of the papers, trying to find an explanation. They were stamped with an official seal, which meant they were legitimate intelligence from one of his kingdom’s own spies. He realised his hands were shaking.

_Very dangerous._

His Riku? The Riku that just kissed him? Not just that; the same Riku that caressed his arm, comforted him, listened to all his worries.

Listened to all his worries.

Of course. Why else would anyone want to listen to Sora’s concerns? Poor, stupid princeling boy spilling out all his secrets and royal insecurities. He should have suspected. But he had trusted Riku, and usually his gut was right. If Sora’s gut wasn’t working anymore, then he was screwed. Then he had nothing.

He reread the paper, and there was no denying it. Riku - his Riku - was one of the deadliest spies for the kingdom they were about go to war with.

5.  
Sora woke, bleary-eyed and with a sickly stone-pit in his stomach. He lifted his head, and a piece of paper unstuck from his cheek and floated to the table he seemed to be sat at. He was in the library, and the fire was cold.

For a few confused moments he couldn’t remember why he was there, asleep at the wooden table with piles of paper spread around him, then it all came back to him at a terrifying speed.

He reread the paper that he had fallen asleep on top of; the same one he had reread about a thousand times the night before. He felt as though it was the only thing in his brain anymore, overlying any other thought. That single page of evidence. As much as Sora wanted to deny that it could be true, it made sense.

Riku had refused to say who he was, or what he was doing, for so long.

“But,” Sora thought outloud, directing his angry confusion at the offensive piece of paper, “if he was a professional spy, he would have a fake backstory or something...”

When Riku had arrived, it had been offguard. Sora had literally dragged him to the palace, injured, nearly dead. Riku wouldn’t have had the time or resources to come up with a plausible backstory - not when he had already told Sora his name.

“Argh!”

Sora threw his head into his hands.

There were footsteps from outside the room, and they sounded familiar. Sora shuffled the papers together quickly, just before the door creaked and then opened.

“Sora,” said Xehanort, as he walked into the room. “There you are. What are you doing here, come along. You’re late for the ambassador. What have you got there?”

He pointed at the papers Sora had hastily placed into a pile.

Sora looked down at them, and it struck him that Xehanort hadn’t seen this report. None of the advisors had. That meant he didn’t know that Riku was an assassin - of course he didn’t, because if he did then Riku probably would have been executed weeks ago. Probably without even Sora’s permission, maybe even without Sora’s knowledge. Sora wouldn’t put it past Xehanort to quietly get rid of Riku, and tell Sora that he had simply left.

Sora gulped at the prospect.

He had a choice. He could tell Xehanort about what he had found, or he could -

What was his other option?

“Nothing,” said Sora, tidying the papers into his lap and folding them roughly. “Just some homework Xemnas had me do.”

“Very well, you can hand them to him yourself.” Xehanort crossed his arms impatiently. “Now come, as I have already said, you’re late. Don’t make me mention it a third time.”

Sora nodded emphatically, and shoved the folded papers into his jerkin and under his belt, before following Xehanort out of the room and into the day’s duties.

* * *

It was evening by the time Sora had been released from talking to diplomats and nodding at advisors. A pale wintry light was slowly dimming into the purply darkness of night as he paced through the corridors of the castle.

Riku had been missing all day, and definitely wasn’t in any of the usual places Sora could find him.

Eventually, he’d had to ask someone, and finally Ienzo was able to tell him that Riku could sometimes be found wandering the landscaped garden. It was right at the back of the castle grounds, about as far away from the castle and the rest of the city a person could get, and looked out towards the hills and on a good day, further out to the mountains which separated Sora’s kingdom from their neighbour. It made sense. That, after all, was where Riku was from. The enemy he worked for.

When Sora reached the gardens, he started running. He wanted to see those green eyes again, and hope that something in them could make Sora believe something else - make Sora believe that he was wrong, and that Riku was good after all. That Riku would never hurt anyone.

He found the man sooner than he anticipated.

There was a pinky haze spreading out from the hills beyond, casting a glow on the lake which sat at the back of the grounds. And there, standing amidst the light and on the edge of the water, was Riku. His back was turned to Sora, and didn’t move even as he came closer. Sora had never been very sneaky, but now especially he stomped through the muddy scrub towards the lake, deciding there was no point hiding his presence.

Eventually he found himself next to Riku. A breeze unsettled the man’s silver hair, then calmed.

“Good evening,” Sora said, trying to hide the tremor in his voice.

Sora watched Riku’s face carefully, and didn’t miss the way his head bobbed up at Sora’s upbeat tone, nor the confused crease in his brow. The confusion was quickly masked again though.

“Good evening,” said Riku, staring back into the lake.

“I’ve been thinking about it,” said Sora. “About the investigation into you. And, well, I was sure they were going to find something. You know, about you. Something bad.”

There was silence.

“I thought you trusted your gut about people,” Riku said eventually.

Sora nodded.

“Well I did, and then I found this,” he said, thrusting the folded paper under Riku’s nose.

Riku breathed a heavy breath before taking the sheet. It wrinkled slightly in his tight grip, and when he opened it out to read, his eyes didn’t move. They just stared at the page for a moment. Then he put the sheet down, crumpled in his fist.

“Where did you find this?” he said finally.

Sora picked up a rock from the pebbly shore and threw it from palm to palm.

“Does it matter?”

Riku sighed. Sora threw the rock, but it didn’t skim. It whipped straight from his hand and into the water with a sharp splash. He stood back, then picked up another rock. Riku stayed silent, and he looked to simply be watching the ripples fan out from the rock.

“Maybe someone’s looking out for me,” said Sora quietly. “Maybe they didn’t want to see me hurt.”

Riku was quiet, and after a moment he nodded. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again.

Sora threw his rock, this time it bounced off the water once, twice. As it sunk into the water, he wondered why the information never reached his advisors, and he was faced with the realisation that whichever spy had intended to deliver the papers must not have made it. Someone else had given them to Sora - they would never usually come directly to him. They shouldn’t have.

That meant whoever had collected the information was missing. Or worse.

He gave a sideways glance at Riku. Yesterday, Sora might have said he - liked him. Liked a lot. There was a little stubble on Riku’s chin that Sora could still remember the feel of, a harsh brush against his own jaw.

“Are you going to tell me it’s not true or anything?” asked Sora, throwing another stone at the water. It was a bad throw. It slipped from his hand a moment later than he meant it to, and took a flying start in the wrong direction. It still bounced once.

There was a crumpling noise as Riku’s fist grew tighter with the paper still gripped in it.

“No,” he said. His face was blank for a moment, as though he didn’t care, but his body was full of tension. Sora had never seen him look so still. Even when he was stood to order, he still seemed somehow at ease. Then his body crumpled. His shoulders dropped, and his head bobbed. “Are you going to turn me in?”

He didn’t sound angry, or scared, or even concerned. He just sounded sad. He sounded like he’d accepted it.

Sora dropped the rock he’d been holding. He had been hoping that he would deny it. He had been hoping for a stupid reason. He had not been hoping for this sad acceptance.

“So,” said Sora, “it is? It’s all true?”

Riku turned to him, but didn’t say anything.

“You’re - you’re really an assassin?”

Riku breathed in deeply, and held it in for a second. Instead of exhaling he said, “Yes.”

“Were you going to assassinate me?”

“Do I have to answer that?”

“Do I want you to?”

Riku said nothing.

Sora shook his head. He picked up another rock, and threw it at the water hard. It bounced five times. His cheeks grew hot. He was embarrassed. Riku wasn’t the person he thought he was - how had he got it so wrong?

“I should feel scared, shouldn’t I?” Sora tapped his foot. “But it’s strange, because I don’t.”

Riku went still again.

“I feel comfortable,” Sora continued, picking up another rock. “I feel safe. That’s so-” he threw the rock “-stupid. You’re literally an assasin sent to kill me.”

Riku shifted slightly. “Yep,” he said, and there was a small tumble of pebbles where he kicked a foot at the ground.

Sora’s heart sank further.

“You need to go away,” he said. “I won’t turn you in, but you can’t stay.”

“Wait,” Riku turned to Sora, nearly grabbing at his shoulder then holding off at the last second. Sora stared at his shoulder where Riku’s hand nearly touched him. “You’re not going to turn me in?”

“No,” Sora replied. “I- I’m not... You’ve had more than enough opportunities to kill me.” He paused. “Why haven’t you?”

Riku froze.

A freak wind-swept wave washed onto the pebbly shore.

Riku shrugged.

“It...” he started. “The moment never felt right.”

Sora snorted, then felt his throat close up. He hiccoughed.

“You should go now,” Sora said, the words wavering. His voice felt tight, and he realised he was crying. “Before anyone else finds out.”

Riku looked as though he was going to reach out to comfort Sora, then turned. He walked away, and Sora found he couldn’t look anymore at his back.

He watched the lake instead, as the sky turned dark and the moon shone brightly, reflected in the gently rippling water. Sora rubbed at his eyes, but he had to wait a long time before he could return to the castle which was now very much Riku-less.

+1.  
Sora didn’t really enjoy being in the library anymore, but he was bored of the guards and advisors, and it was one of the few places they usually left him alone.

He pretended to read the book he’d pulled at random from one of the shelves, but all he could think about was the nine long days he’d had to spend without Riku. He didn’t know whether he was happy that he was still out there, alive and hopefully safe, or whether he was scared that Riku was out there, possibly giving away secret information about Sora and the castle to the enemy. Worst of all, he couldn’t tell if he was actually just sad - sad that the person he’d thought had been his friend was out there, and Sora couldn’t be with him.

He scratched at the wood grain in the table, and realised he’d managed to dig a shallow groove into it over the last week or so.

He sighed and turned a page. Maybe the next one would actually hold his interest.

There was a shudder from below him, coming from the floor itself. Sora furrowed his brow and looked up from the book. He could hear shouting from outside the window, so got up to take a look outside. But before he managed to get there, all hell broke loose.

There was another shudder and shake, accompanied by a cacophony of screams and shouts which didn’t seem to end. It took a moment, but he suddenly realised - the castle was under siege.

War had finally broken, and it was inside already.

Sora felt panic rise within him, and grabbed hold of the chair to steady himself. A hot and cold chill ran through his muscles and he took a moment to breathe in carefully, and breathe out. He jutted his chin out, and assessed his situation.

He was in the library. He didn’t have any weapons. Nobody knew he was there.

He could smell smoke, but he wasn’t sure where it was coming from. There was a pounding and clattering outside of the door as people ran past, but enemy or friendly, he couldn’t tell. Nobody looked in.

Sora looked around him for something to protect himself with, finally grabbing the fire poker. It was too light. It would never work against someone with a real weapon, but maybe if he caught them off guard...

He looked out of the window for a different exit, but the window was too small, and besides, he was too high off the ground. He would have to leave by the door, and soon, if the increasing smell of smoke was anything to go by. Sora held his back against the wall for a few moments, still trying to catch his breath and fight the raging pulsing of his heart through the rest of his body. He squeezed his eyes shut, and took a deep breath.

Now.

Just as he grabbed the handle, the door burst open and Sora cried out, ready to attack the person behind it.

It was Riku. His heart swooped with such immediate joy that he dropped the poker.

Then he remembered - it was Riku, during an enemy siege. Sora hurriedly grabbed at the poker, but before he could pick it up Riku had rushed over, his own weapons dropped. He grabbed at Sora’s face, hot hands brushing over his cheeks and neck.

“Are you alright?” asked Riku, breathless, concern painting every feature of his face.

Sora pushed his hands away, confused and upset.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” he said, his heart still pounding. “What are you doing? Are you here to kill me?”

“Kill you-?” Riku stepped back. “Sora,” he said said softly.

He stepped back. There was the sound of footsteps down the corridor. He looked at the open door, then closed it. His expression was unreadable.

“You’re not here to kill me?” Sora asked, brushing a stray tear from his eye with the back of his arm.

Riku was suddenly in his space again, grabbing at his arms. “Sora, of course not. I’m here to save you. I found out about the siege, and I came back to make sure you weren’t hurt.”

Sora felt as though he’d forgotten how to breathe. The air seemed to have been taken from him completely.

“But - you’re an assassin?” he managed to choke. He gulped down a panicked breath. “You were sent to kill me.” It came out like a question.

Riku’s fingers tightened on Sora’s arms.

“I...” he said. “I thought that was what was best for the world,” he said slowly. He looked up, and Sora saw his own fear reflected in Riku’s face. Riku pulled his hands away, and Sora felt hot where his fingers had been. He rubbed at one of the spots gently. Riku looked to the ceiling, then carried on. “I joined my king’s army to serve my country and protect people. They made me feel like training to kill you would - be that. Protecting people. But, I realised how foolish that was as soon as I met you. As soon as I realised who you are. Sora, you made me see I was doing it all the wrong way. I knew I could never hurt you, so I had to go. I had to leave.”

Sora couldn’t speak, then all of a sudden he found himself laughing. Riku took half a step back, as though he was scared of Sora, which only made Sora laugh more.

Riku gave an imploringly confused glance at him, and Sora managed to get the giggles under control.

“I knew I was right about you.”

“What?”

“My gut never lies. I _am_ a good judge of character.”

“Sora, I betrayed you and someone I work for sold you and your family out to an enemy neighbouring kingdom. Worst still, I let them.”

“Minor details.”

“That’s pretty major actually-”

“But,” said Sora. He felt his stomach begin to churn again, differently this time. It was less of a punch to the stomach, and more of a twist of his organs. “You came back.” For some reason, his throat closed up when he said the words and he felt a stinging sensation at the back of his eyes. It must have been the smoke, which was starting to get a bit more real. “That’s what’s important.”

Riku blinked. He breathed in once, and looked away over Sora’s head as though there were some action playing out there. He breathed out, his chest moving rapidly. He caught his own breath and his next was too fast, and he nearly choked. He looked back at Sora, and Sora was fairly certain there was panic behind his eyes.

“I don’t really know what I’m supposed to do now,” he said finally.

The twist in Sora’s gut unfurled gently, like a flower opening in spring. He giggled. Then chuckled, then let out a great sobbing laugh.

“Of course you don’t,” he gasped between each release. “Of course you come and rescue me with no plan.”

Riku’s panicked eyes softened as they looked down.

Sora found his laughter died immediately. He stared at Riku’s face. His beautiful face, which had come back to rescue him.

“Wait,” he said. “Then - who left the papers for me to find?”

Riku ducked his head.

“That was me,” he said. “I needed you to make me leave. I couldn’t do it myself.”

“But I might have told the advisors, I could have had you arrested!” Sora found himself growing angry, and he finally understood how Riku must have felt every time Sora did something reckless. “Riku, I could have had you executed for treason.”

“I know.”

Sora fought the urge to hit him.

“But... why?”

“Because I’m in love with you, Sora!” Riku didn’t skip a beat. “Now we have to go. We have to leave now. The siege.”

Sora blinked, then nodded, rapidly, a few times. There were semi-distant sounds of shouting, and the rumble of a nearby skirmish.

“Yes,” he agreed. “But - where?”

Riku grabbed Sora’s hand, which was damp with sweat from the heat and adrenaline.

“I have an idea,” Riku said slowly. “Let’s go, we’ll just lay low for a while.”

Sora squeezed Riku’s hand.

“Or, we could...”

“What?” asked Sora.

Riku looked at him intensely. “How about - we could... let’s go. Completely. Together.” Riku tightened his own grip on Sora’s hand. “You don’t want to be king, you don’t have to be.”

“But...” Sora started to say, then paused. He found his grip on Riku’s hand was still tight. Riku’s gaze was unwavering, and Sora matched it. “Riku... you’re a genius. I can’t be king. And if I get in power now, with a war breaking out, then who knows what could happen?”

“Well that’s not necessarily what I meant-”

“But it’s true! This would solve so many problems!”

Sora pursed his lips.

“But... it wouldn’t be nice for people to think I’m dead. Even if I’m not.”

“You could always come back. One day.” Riku grabbed Sora’s hands in both of his. “Be selfish, for once.”

Sora nodded.

“Alright,” he said quietly.

Riku furrowed his brow. “Are you sure?”

Sora let out a breathy laugh. “I don’t know, but we haven’t got enough time to figure out, have we?”

Riku smiled and it was like the sun had come out.

“Not really.”

“Alright.”

“Alright?”

“Let’s go then.”

“Yes.”

“We’re not moving though.”

Sora pushed up onto his tiptoes and kissed Riku. Riku’s free hand came up to Sora’s neck, and brushed his ear. Before Sora could deepen the kiss, Riku pulled away.

“Now we are,” he whispered.

Then they ran.

-1.  
They managed to find Leon, fighting in a dark corner. They let him know the loose weave of a plan they had, so that he could tell Ventus, and Sora felt the fog of his decision clear. Leon could tell his close friends, so he wouldn’t break their hearts. He could leave without regrets.

And then he and Riku fled.

They ran for hours without speaking, too scared to stop in case anyone recognised one of them or tried to slow them down.

Eventually Riku stopped, and Sora didn’t argue. He was exhausted.

“Let’s make camp,” he said, looking around. They were in a small woods on the commons of one of Hikari’s outer villages. “We should rest.”

Sora felt like he should fight it. He knew Riku was only stopping for his sake; Riku didn’t even look out of breath. But as soon as his legs had stopped he had felt the wobble that told him they wouldn’t start again. He lowered himself to the ground as gracefully as possible.

“Careful,” said Riku gently as Sora landed with a small crash.

“Sorry,” yawned Sora. “Sorry…”

Riku rested a hand on Sora’s head, then started to move around, gathering things and putting stuff together. Sora was too tired to pay attention.

He must have dozed off, because next thing he knew there was a low campfire in front of him, warming his aching muscles.

“Hungry?” Riku asked.

Sora nodded enthusiastically.

After they managed to wolf down eight mushrooms and three eggs between them, Sora was able to take stock of the situation.

No longer safely tucked away in a castle. No longer a prince. No longer a person. He was brand new, and the world was so big. So why did he feel so calm about it?

He looked up at Riku who was carefully unpacking and repacking some bag he’d had the foresight to bring, and suddenly Sora knew why.

“Hey,” Sora leaned across towards him.

Riku looked up, eyes focused, brows drawn.

“You love me?”

The words tumbled from Sora’s mouth before he knew they were there. The air in his throat seemed to constrict then release, a small gasp escaping him as he finished saying it.

Riku looked down at his bag again. He began packing things at a greater pace.

“Yes,” he said quietly. “But don’t worry - I won’t hold you to anything. It’s just- You’re … It’s, fine. It’s - just don’t worry about it.”

Sora’s mouth dropped open. Then he closed it. Before he could accept anything his mind was trying to tell him, he needed to know something.

“Where do I know you from?” he said. “We’ve met - before Destati.”

Riku looked down at his hands, and when he looked up there was a soft, self-deprecating smile on his face.

“I was eight years old,” he said. “And I was wandering the fields above my village. It’s on the border, between your kingdom and mine. That’s why I passed the investigation. My village has been contested land between the two kingdoms for centuries. While I grew up, it was your mother’s land. But … when it mattered, when I joined the army, it was on the wrong side.” He shrugged lightly. “My father was a shepherd, so I was looking for a lost lamb, but instead - I found you.”

Sora leaned back, and looked up at the stars.

“You were eight - and you still remember?”

“It left an impression.”

Sora wracked his memory. He could remember a trip, with his mother the Queen, to the neighbouring kingdom. He went on lots of trips with her, and he was always up to no good. He got so restless in the carriages, so would run away at the first opportunity.

There was a glimpse of a memory long forgotten, stashed away in the corner of his mind. The carriages had broken down in the middle of nowhere, and he had run up a hill, and then another one, and then another one. Endless green and blue. Until he couldn’t find his way back again.

“I could tell you were scared but you didn’t once show it. Instead you kept laughing, and saying if you got lost forever then your mother would kill you.”

Sora could remember a terrible telling off.

“You held my hand so tightly while I took you back to the village, and when we got there, all these fancy carriages and horses and knights in shining armour were in an uproar looking for you. But when they realised you were back, it was like spring had come after the longest winter. They thanked me over and over, not just the higher ups but every soldier, every footman. They all cared for you. That was when I realised I wanted to be a knight.” Riku turned to look at Sora. “When I realised I wanted to help more people who needed it.”

Sora realised his mouth was hanging open. He shut it. For once, he didn’t know what to say.

There was a long silence. Only the sounds of Riku’s bag being packed whispered across their small campsite.

“I love you too,” Sora said, fast, before he could stop it.

Riku paused what he was doing, his whole body completely frozen. Then he looked up. His eyes were wide and bright, his face full a fearful shock. There was a minute change in the expression, something Sora could barely read.

And then Riku grinned, and Sora felt himself beaming back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!!!!!!!!! i really enjoyed this little story, and am now sort of maybe expanding it into an original fiction...........we'll see anyway. i have lots of ideas and half a plot already, so it's all very possible.
> 
> let me know what you think! please leave comments, and feel free to chat to me on twitter @morvishh!!!! xxxxx

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! if you wanna hmu on twitter u can find me @morvishh or on tumblr i'm morvish (though i don't post there very often) xx
> 
> p.s. i just used the generic 'saints' as a blaspheme, it's a bit of a rip and doesn't quite suit kh characters but i've always liked it. it'll do!!!


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